MS-13 Violence Case Study

The Short North Posse terrorized the Wienland Park neighborhood since the early 1990’s. The north side gang became so entrenched in violence, local police and prosecutors teamed up with the Federal Bureau of Investigation an issued the largest federal murder indictment in history in the state of Ohio. The Columbus Dispatch reported that in 2014, “Law enforcement around central Ohio, collaborated with the FBI on a two-year investigation that lead to a twenty-five count indictment that included 11 murder charges.” A person could possibly entertain the idea that since the gang members were indicted and brought to justice, the system is running a course and the problem is under control. Nevertheless, the majority of sensible people might successfully flirt with the notion that if Columbus had a well-established anti-gang program throughout the community, these nine men and two women would have never lost their lives to senselessness. Gangs such as the Short North Posse, that often referred themselves as the “Cut Throat Committee” could have possibly been avoided if the city took an earlier initiative to curb the rise in gang activity by applying awareness programs and interventions.

With the leading number of gangs in the country, Los Angeles is thought of as the gang capital of the world. Employing gang suppression strategies that take distinct forms, from anti-gang injunctions to high rate of incarcerations, the City of Angels has failed to live up to its angelic name. Known instead for its demonic gang activity and police suppression efforts, Los Angeles has taken over media headlines as one of the most dangerous places to subsist. Representing a worrisome issue for residents, visitors, city government officials, as well as urban planners, gang violence has rapidly become a threat to public safety. Although current-day gang culture has eased off on the violence, it continues to be one of the greatest planning challenges

Individuals who are affiliated with gangs commit crimes such as homicide consistently. Gangs target areas where people are not unified and would be less likely to contact authorities if violence broke out. Drive by shootings occur so often that Detective Dale Wallis says “they [gangs] do not care who’s going to get shot” (qtd. in Minty 1). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did a report to determine the top five United States cities to have high levels of gang homicide. Those five cities were Los Angeles, California; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Long Beach, California; Oakland, California, and Newark, New Jersey. The study

According to the Toronto police, an Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy was a necessary investment in wake of increasing gun violence among poor (primarily black) youth in the city of Toronto, which peaked to its ultimate high in the year 2005 known as the ‘year of the gun’. A media spectacle of the Toronto’s gang violence primarily involving young black men from poor inner suburban

The article I read this week was “MS-13 gang member narrated video of teen’s killing, FBI agent testifies” by Justin Jouvenal. Jouvenal discusses the murder of 15-year-old Damaris Reyes Rivas in Virginia. Shortly before her death, Damaris left her home in Gaithersburg, MD and became involved with the gang MS-13. The gang order Rivas death because she had lured an MS-13 leader, Sosa Rivas, to his death. First, Damaris was lured to Lake Accotink Park and was interrogated and beaten by MS-13 members. MS-13 members murdered her with a knife and large wooden stake, while Jose Cerrato captured this scene on video. The video was taken to send it to MS-13 leaders. 17 year-old Jose Cerrato captured the video so he could demonstrate his willingness to

Milagros Canjura was around seven months pregnant when found shot to death outside her Bay Shore home in Long Island, NY. The 31-year old rented an apartment with her husband (whom friends say was in jail) in the Stein Drive community (LINK 4). Family members say that Canjura was heading to work when the suspect parked right next to the home walked up to the car and opened fire. The victim’s body was found dumped on the beach. Officials say this is a retaliation hit from the gang MS-13 who had a reputed member murdered. Officials also state that this gang has a history of revenge killings involving family members.

In Montecito Heights, CA, a woman was out taking her dog for a walk in Ernest E. Debs Park (LINK 1) when she discovered the bodies of two teen girls. The girls were identified as Briana Gallegos 17, and Gabriela Calzada 19, who was not mentioned if they were in a gang themselves, they were affiliates of a local gang.

Chicago has the biggest gang problem in the country (Thomas & Bass, 2009). “There are more gang members per citizen in Chicago than anywhere else in the country” (Thomas, 2009, para 4). The average Chicago gang leader is 43, convicted of murder and lives in the suburbs. That leader on many occasions directs his gang from jail (Main, 2006) and 95 percent of inmates in the Cook County Jail are gang members (Thomas, 2009). Gangs are everywhere today just like they use to be. The high number of gangs causes violence and deaths to rise in Chicago.

INTRODUCTION Criminality associated with gang participation and membership is a growing problem within the criminal justice system, as the FBI states that “33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs with about 1.4 million members are criminally active in the U.S. and Puerto Rico today. Many are sophisticated and well organized; all use violence to control neighborhoods and boost their illegal money-making activities, which include robbery, drug and gun trafficking, prostitution and human trafficking, and fraud. Many gang members continue to commit crimes even after being sent to jail” (Gangs, 2016). The growing attention to gang associated criminality has been the focus of many local, state, and federal agencies simply

In Washington D.C., a 12-year-old runaway was violently forced into sex trafficking by the MS-13 gang. The 12-year-old was forced to have sex with customers in unsanitary conditions on the floor of a mechanic’s garage. According to Jeff Sessions, “gangs profit off the victimization of others through, drug trafficking, extortion, murdering rivals, robbing innocent bystanders and trafficking vulnerable juveniles for sex.” The F.B.I reports that 30,000 gangs commit violent acts against different communities. In addition, these gangs maintain their terror by relying on sex trafficking. The MS-13 gang was quoted as saying, “Kill, rape, and control.” As a result of gang’s violence, the Department of Justice has focused special attention on dealing

Social Conflict Theory: The Social Conflict Theory states that people who are put down tend to stay down and be dictated by the force keeping them down. In the impoverished city in which this movie takes place in we see that people are very needy and have no dignity. It is in towns like this that many gangs find their burrows grounds and infiltrate these shanty towns to begin their cartels and reigns of terror. Here the people do not like the MS13 gang, but cannot do anything about it because they will be killed instantly. MS13 treat the people like dirt and freely rob, rape, and kill the people whenever they feel like it.

US Department of Health and Human Services, and US Department of Health and Human Services. "Youth violence: A report of the Surgeon General." (2001): 106.

and other violent crime, and work to prevent sexual assault and other violence through primary

Health care facilities’ workers are at increased risk of assaults, treats and potential harm because of increased violence in our society. The increase in violence is believed to be as a result of such factors such as the easy access to weapons, access to unsecured clinics, patient discourage with medical options or treatment available to them and mentally ill patients who are frustrated with the current healthcare system. Healthcare providers and staff members could potentially have their hands filled when dealing with individuals suffering from personality disorders who have little insight into their behavior. Other factors such as drug addiction, dementia, delirium, and chemical intoxication have a higher incidence of violence, as do functional

How have statistics of youth violence been since the start of the program in 2002? I ask this because if there has been an increase in the youth violence since 2002, then clearly the program is not doing its intended job.